Bunny Leech

Recipe

HOOK: 3X long, 2X heavy, turned-down eye; e.g., TMC 5263 or equivalent. Sizes 2-10. Weight the hook with either a bead head or wire wraps; most of the weight should be in the front half of the fly.

THREAD: To match body

TAIL: Thin strip of straight-cut rabbit, on the skin.

BODY: Thin strip of cross-cut rabbit. Wrap around hook shank from back to front. Tie in a few strands of Krystal Flash at the head.

Uses

This makes a good general-purpose streamer that is useful in lakes and in slower portions of rivers. The rabbit fur moves in a lifelike fashion, and the fly just looks alive and tantalizing to big trout.
However, as an actual leech, it's too fat. But I am convinced that--for whatever reason--trout love it, and that's good enough for me.

Variations

How to Fish

Use the count-down-and-retrieve or slow retrieve presentations. Vary the retrieve until you find what works best at the moment: slow and steady, fast, strip-and-pause, or quick, short two-inch strips. Also, wind-drifting works well in lakes. I've even picked up trout by letting the fly sink slowly with no additional action.